by Phil Williams | May 8, 2014 | Writing skills
Formal, or polite, sentences often use the passive voice because it sounds more impersonal and neutral. Active sentences, on the other hand, can seem personal, or direct, which can sound too casual or too aggressive. Consider the following active sentences, and how...
by Phil Williams | Apr 15, 2014 | Writing skills
This exercise will test your use of the tips offered in the previous lesson, Writing Informative Email Subject Lines. Below, I have given you 9 possible email summaries, explaining the contents of a complete email. These become increasingly complicated. For each email...
by Phil Williams | Apr 9, 2014 | Writing skills
Informative email subject lines must be short and descriptive. It is a challenge to be noticed in someone’s inbox, so make sure your business and information emails get straight to the point and highlight important information, without being dramatic or appearing like...
by Phil Williams | Apr 2, 2014 | General English, Writing skills
Calendar dates can be written in a wide variety of ways in English, and the choice often depends on formal or informal writing, personal style and whether you are writing British or American English. Whatever the format, in British English, dates are usually written...
by Phil Williams | Jan 29, 2014 | Writing skills
Articles can vary in length, and topic, but tend to follow a logical structure. Though they may take many forms, the purpose is usually to inform or to entertain (often both), and this means following a similar pattern. Whether you’re writing an essay arguing two...
by Phil Williams | Nov 19, 2013 | Grammar, Writing skills
Reading newspaper articles is an excellent way for foreign learners to build vocabulary and practice comprehension using real material. It can expose you to different topics, and a variety of language that is rare in spoken English. However, newspaper writing is...